


Alpha Station

by AetherSprite (AranthianPrincess)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Getting Back Together, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Sci-Fi AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 05:38:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18986371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AranthianPrincess/pseuds/AetherSprite
Summary: A month ago Earth lost contact with the state-of-the-art Alpha Station in orbit around Mars. SHIELD sends it's best team to check it out, Steve's team. But on the station more than danger awaits Steve. Tony Stark was on the station when it went dark. A man Steve thought he'd never see again.





	Alpha Station

**Author's Note:**

> This was a different genre for me and I'm not quite sure I did it justice, but I tried. The inspiration for this came primarily from Alien: Isolation and Dead Space. And, of course, Kakushimiko's lovely artwork.

_Alpha Station, the latest in state-of-the-art space station technology in orbit around Mars, has stopped broadcasting nearly one month ago. Multiple attempts to contact the station director have all failed. No distress signals have been received by any long-range communication stations. The immediate assumption is the station has been destroyed, but a fly-by by our deep space probe has confirmed Alpha Station remains in orbit around Mars._

 

_With no other options available to us, SHIELD is sending your team in to complete a full reconnaissance, report back on the station's status, and render aid if possible. With any luck, only Alpha Station's long-range communications have been disabled and your team will be able to make contact on final approach. Your team is authorized to dock with and board the station if communications cannot be established._

 

_Be advised, Tony Stark, CEO and creative mind behind Stark Industries, is confirmed to have been on Alpha Station when it went dark. He has worked with SHIELD in the past and is a primary investor in the station, which is why he was invited to tour it. If you can find him, Stark could be a helpful, if reluctant, resource. It might take some convincing, but gaining Stark's cooperation will be worth the trouble. Regardless, Stark is a primary target for protection and extraction._

 

_Good luck, Captain Rogers._

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Steve shut down the terminal with his mission briefing from Director Fury and just stared at the blank screen. Tony was on the station. They may have ended their previous romance, but Steve desperately hoped Tony was okay. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned to Barton in the pilot's seat, catching his first glimpse of Alpha Station as he did so.

 

“ETA to minimum hailing distance, Hawkeye?”

 

“We'll be within short-range hailing distance in five minutes, Cap.”

 

“Good. Contact me as soon as we're within range. I'm going to go see how Black Widow is coming along.”

 

“Roger that.”

 

Steve left the cockpit and made his way down the narrow corridor toward the crew lounge where Romanov was currently inventorying her armory. Pistols and knives littered the aluminum tabletop. When Steve entered, she immediately began slotting each weapon into it's sheath or holster. Several weapons vanished all together and Steve briefly wondered what she'd done with them, but knew better than to ask.

 

“Ready, Widow?” Steve asked even though he had just seen her gear up. He preferred verbal confirmation whenever possible. In addition, simply asking the question informed his team he expected them to be ready to go.

 

“Yes. We got an update on the situation yet?” She said, prompt and direct as always.

 

“Not yet. ETA to hailing distance is approximately three minutes,” Steve said. “I'm assuming you read the briefing. What's your take on the situation? Should we be expecting trouble?”

 

“It's early yet, but you know me, I always expect trouble.”

 

Steve allowed the corner of his mouth to quirk up in amusement. “Yes, you do, but I was hoping for a more in-depth analysis of the situation.”

 

“With what little information we have, the theories could be as good as damage to the long-range communications system or as bad as the complete annihilation of the station. Since you didn't mention that last, I'm going to go ahead and rule it out.”

 

Steve nodded. “Alpha Station is still in Mars' orbit. I suppose we'll learn the extent of their problems when we make initial contact.”

 

Just then the intercom in the wall next to them crackled and Barton's voice came from the speaker.

 

“Captain, this is Hawkeye. We've reached minimum hailing range.”

 

“Acknowledged, Hawkeye. Continue the approach. Widow and I will join you shortly,” Steve ordered.

 

He turned toward the doorway, making eye contact with Romanov and jerking his head toward it. She fell into step behind him, both retracing Steve's earlier steps back to the cockpit.

 

Their ship, the _Avenger,_ was small, but what it lacked in size and armor it made up for in speed and maneuverability. The ship, cramped as it was, couldn't afford much space for cargo or passengers, but it could be, and often was, crewed by a single person. All in all, Steve considered the benefits to far outweigh the losses. They may not be traveling in style or aiding in large rescue missions, but the _Avenger_ was good at what she did, which was all Steve asked.

 

They reached the cockpit and each took a seat. Alpha Station appeared larger in the viewport now than it had when Steve left. It reminded Steve a lot of Saturn. A large, flat ring of gunmetal gray encircled a similarly colored sphere. Despite it's obvious size, Steve had a hard time imagining full-size rooms, labs, living spaces, and so on inside it. Distance deceived the eye and Steve knew when they docked he would be able to stroll right into Alpha Station like it was a downtown skyscraper.

 

“Has anyone from Alpha Station made contact?” Steve asked.

 

“Negative. I haven't detected any transmissions in the area at all,” Barton said.

 

“Hail the station.”

 

“Roger,” Barton said, flicking a switch on his console. “Alpha Station, this is the _Avenger_. Acknowledge?”

 

They waited. Several seconds passed without a response and Barton tried again.

 

“Alpha Station, this is the _Avenger_. Are you receiving us? Acknowledge?”

 

Still no response.

 

“Alpha Station, do you read? This is the _Avenger_ on a mission from SHIELD. Acknowledge?”

 

Finally, the comm crackled to life and a voice could just barely be heard through the static.

 

“Alpha Station, repeat. We did not read.”

 

Steve listened hard, leaning forward in his seat as if getting closer to the speaker would help him hear the person on the other end better.

 

“...lost...dock...repeat...not...dangerous...station...acknowledge...”

 

A loud crashing sound and bloodcurdling scream pierced the tense silence, making the white noise even worse before it died completely. Barton tried one more time to hail the station, but the comm had gone silent. Nothing he did could raise a response.

 

“Well, you got more information, Widow. What do you think now?” Steve asked.

 

“It sounds like a catastrophic event. If one person survived, it's possible others did too. There could be someone on that station who could tell us what happened,” she said.

 

“How willing are you to find out if that theory is true?”

 

Romanov met his eyes unflinchingly. “As willing as you are.”

 

Steve nodded acknowledgment. “Hawkeye, begin docking procedures. Try to get us as close to the bridge as you can.”

 

“Roger, Captain,” Barton said and set about carrying out the orders.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Ten minutes later, the _Avenger_ connected to a docking bay with a clang and a shudder.

 

“We're docked and sealed, Captain. This is the closest working automated bay to the bridge I could find. It looks like it's right next to Science and Medical.”

 

“Thanks, Hawkeye. Widow and I will go aboard and take a look around. You stay on the ship and monitor area transmissions. Keep an eye on us and watch our backs.”

 

“Roger that. Don't forget to keep in touch.”

 

Steve rolled his eyes at the joke and made his way to the airlock where Romanov waited for him.

 

Romanov followed as Steve stepped through the airlock and onto Alpha Station for the first time. Steve was struck by how much it didn't look like the advertisements he'd seen. Yes, the walls were metal, but he would hesitate to call them shiny or clean. Graffiti covered the walls from floor to ceiling, and occasionally on the floor itself. Steve wondered where the spray paint had come from.

 

Metal panels lay on the floor, ripped off the walls to expose the conduits behind. Other junk lay scattered around too. Steve and Romanov had to walk around or step over so much debris Steve had a hard time believing all of it had once looked decorative instead of the current war zone. Then they turned a corner into what looked like some kind of reception area.

 

The corridor they were in widened considerably. Benches that must have once stood in symmetrical rows had been overturned and tossed around the room. Brown plants lay draped over the sides of their rectangular metal pots. Romanov went to inspect them, but the vine she touched crumbled away in her hand. No graffiti marred the formerly pristine walls. Instead, rust red stains covered the floor and lower half of the walls. Upon closer inspection, Steve realized it was...

 

“Blood,” Romanov said, coming up behind him and looking over his shoulder where he crouched to examine the closest stain. “It's old. And I don't see any bodies. This must have been part of the catastrophic event that took the station offline.”

 

Steve stood and looked around at the destruction. “What could have caused this?”

 

“I don't know, but we won't find out standing here,” Romanov said. “We should keep looking for survivors.”

 

“Hard to believe anyone survived this.”

 

“Someone sent that transmission. Someone alive.”

 

Steve nodded. “You're right. Let's go.”

 

He lead the way toward the left most corridor which, according to the sign above the entryway, would take them to the bridge. The corridor walls bore the occasional graffiti, but appeared to have escaped the worst of the damage. Steve reasoned that any survivors must not spend much time there, probably hurrying to their destination. Or running from whatever had caused those bloodstains.

 

The exit point had just come into sight when an explosion rocked the station, nearly knocking Steve off his feet. A hastily thrown out hand against the wall saved him from the embarrassment. Romanov was similarly able to keep her feet. They shared a look and Steve immediately grabbed his communicator.

 

“ _Avenger_ , this is Nomad. Come in.”

 

There was nothing but silence. Steve opened his mouth to call again when a burst of white noise interrupted him.

 

“This is the _Avenger._ What is it, Cap?” Barton's voice crackled over the transmission, sounding strained. “Is this about that big explosion?”

 

“Do you know what happened?”

 

“No idea,” Barton said, calmer now. “Whatever it was knocked me right off the docking bay.”

 

“Can you dock with the station again?”

 

“Doesn't look like it. The bay was damaged and the airlock tunnel sheared away. I'll look around and see if I can't find another place to dock.”

 

“Acknowledged, Hawkeye. Keep me posted. Nomad out.”

 

“Guess we're stranded then,” Romanov said.

 

Steve looked at her. “Might as well continue searching the station for survivors. See what we can find out about what happened here.”

 

Romanov shrugged. “Sure. I don't have anything better to do.”

 

They continued down the corridor, wary of another station-rocking explosion, and emerged into a laboratory. In contrast with the reception area they'd just come from, this room looked ransacked more than vandalized. No graffiti marred the walls and only a few chairs were overturned, likely knocked over by careless looters not worried about picking up after themselves. Steve saw several opened containers tossed around the room, but the tools and machines looked to be untouched.

 

Steve started across the room, aiming for the door on the other side that should lead them to the bridge. About halfway across the room he heard a loud clattering. He immediately turned toward the sound and reached for his sidearm only to freeze in shock more than fear.

 

“Tony?” Steve whispered.

 

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the curious expression Romanov tossed his way.

 

“Stay back!” Tony shouted, aiming a gun at him and slowly backing away.

 

Steve took a moment to give him a cursory examination. Tony looked rough. His hair fell messily across his face and into his eyes, yet still somehow managed to make him look vulnerable. Part of that was probably due to how huge his eyes were, which only showed off the creeping red of bloodshot veins. He clearly hadn't been getting much sleep and the unusually loose fit of his clothes indicated he hadn't gotten as much to eat as he should either. The clothes themselves, besides being baggy, looked a little threadbare and dirty, but intact.

 

“Mr. Stark, we're Agents of SHIELD. We're here to help,” Romanov said.

 

Tony swung around to face her and point the gun in her direction. Steve could see the way his eyes darted between him and Romanov and the rest of the room. It was the reaction of someone who had been forced to survive unprepared in harsh conditions. A cornered animal.

 

“I said stay back!” Tony shouted again, only seeming slightly appeased when Romanov raised her empty hands. “There's nothing here you can loot. You wouldn't even know how to use most of this stuff. Just leave and no one has to get hurt.”

 

Steve followed Romanov's lead and raised his own hands, taking a slow step forward and forcing Tony's attention back on him.

 

“Tony, it's okay. We're not looters. You know me. Remember? It's me. Steve.”

 

Tony's brow furrowed and the barrel of the gun dipped slightly. That's when Romanov struck. She grabbed Tony's wrist and managed to knock the gun out of his hand. It skittered across the floor, disappearing from sight behind a workstation. Romanov twisted Tony's arm behind his back and pushed him toward the nearest normal-looking door. Tony struggled the entire way, but she opened the door, revealing some kind of fancy janitor's closet. She forced him inside and shut and locked the door too quickly for him to escape her grasp. He immediately began banging on the door and shouting demands to be let out.

 

“Was that really necessary, Widow?” Steve asked.

 

She gave him another curious look. “It was the quickest way to neutralize him and speed is of the essence.”

 

Steve shook his head. The more he worked with Romanov and Barton the less in control he felt, but she was right. They needed to move quickly if they wanted to find out what happened here and find a way back to the _Avenger_.

 

“You're right. Head for the bridge and see if you can find out anything. Keep in touch,” Steve ordered.

 

“Where will you be?”

 

“I'm staying here with him,” Steve said, jerking his head toward the locked door. “I can't leave him here alone. If he calms down, we'll catch up with you.”

 

Romanov didn't look like she believed that would happen any more than Steve himself did, but nodded and strode off, vanishing behind the doors leading toward the bridge. That left Steve alone with a still very upset Tony. If Tony had Steve's strength, he'd be worried about the door failing catastrophically any moment. Instead, he just had to endure the shouting and banging, the desperation of which wrenched at his heart.

 

“Tony, please calm down,” Steve said, nearly shouting to be heard over Tony. “I'm sorry we had to lock you in there, but it's for your own good. I promise.”

 

The racket stopped suddenly and all Steve could hear was a faint rustling and occasional soft clang from behind the door. Relief swept over him. Maybe he could get Tony to the bridge after all.

 

“It's gonna be okay, Tony. I'll get you out of here and home safe. You'll see.”

 

Tony didn't say anything, but Steve hadn't expected him to. He'd looked a little crazed, probably from whatever happened a month ago and his subsequent crash course in survival. Steve knew he shouldn't feel guilty for what had happened to Tony, but he couldn't help feeling like he should have been here with him, protected him.

 

A sharp sound like metal striking metal drew his attention. He spun around to confront the threat only to find an empty room. Steve spent a moment examining his surroundings, but didn't notice anything out of place. Deciding it must have been his imagination, he made to return to his post. A quiet skittering off to the side had him changing direction to go investigate.

 

“Steve?”

 

Before he could get two steps, Tony quietly called out to him. Steve turned back around and came face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. Somehow, Tony had managed to escape his temporary prison – of course he had, Tony was a genius – and retrieve his lost gun. He looked calmer now, more in control, but that didn't settle Steve's nerves in the slightest.

 

“Tony, please –”

 

Tony fired. Steve reflexively closed his eyes and braced for the bullet's impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see Tony standing there, stare and gun both aimed at the floor behind him. Steve turned around. Something that could only be described as a monster lay crumpled on the floor, dead.

 

Three more shots rang out, punching into the gray, armored body. The thing squealed and convulsed before curling into itself like a spider.

 

“Is it dead?” Steve asked after a long moment. “And what is it?”

 

“It's dead now. You can tell by the way their limbs curl into their bodies. They're hard to kill and like to play dead to lure in unsuspecting victims,” Tony said. At least he sounded like his usual self now, more or less. “As for what they are: They're what's left of Alpha Station's inhabitants. The ones who didn't survive anyway.”

 

Steve didn't know what to say to that so he turned his attention to studying the corpse. It looked like a normal human, if you ignored the sickly gray skin and large, scythe-like claws protruding from it's shoulders. A closer examination revealed sharp claws on it's fingers and a naked body so desiccated it was impossible to tell for sure if it was male or female.

 

“Come on, Tony. We need to get to the bridge and my teammate. You can tell me what happened here on the way,” Steve said.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“I don't really know what happened.”

 

Steve could tell not knowing something irked Tony. They crept slowly down yet another demolished corridor at Tony's insistence.

 

“They can see just fine, but they're really attracted to noise. If you don't wanna get swarmed by a mob of the things, I suggest we keep as quiet as possible,” he'd said when they started out for the bridge.

 

Steve forced his mind back to the present.

 

“It's fine. Just tell me what you do know.”

 

Tony sighed and studiously avoided Steve's eyes.

 

“Keep in mind, most of this is guess work, but I think the scientists here were messing with something they didn't understand and it got out of hand. An emergency alert went out over the intercom one day warning all residents not involved in emergency procedures to return to their quarters until further notice. Then all hell broke loose. I didn't even make it back to my room before I ran across one of those things. I was in a crowd and managed to get away with a few others while it was distracted. The monster ripped into a woman not far from me. I remember her scream... And I remember the screeching sound she made when she immediately turned on the rest of us.”

 

Tony stopped talking. Steve was just about to ask if that was the end of the story when he looked over and saw the far away look in his eyes. His gaze turned dark, like he was reliving the horrors he'd witnessed. Then Tony shook his head and refocused on Steve.

 

“I've been hiding and scavenging supplies ever since. Sometimes I would run across a – for lack of a better word – zombie. After a few encounters, you start to pick up on how to deal with them. For example, only head shots reliably put them down. Get enough shots to the chest and heart, you might stop them. If you don't run out of bullets first. Better to just destroy the brain. And if you see one lying around not curled up all spider-like, put a couple rounds in it's head just to be safe. Whatever you do, don't let them bite you. It'll be game over if you do.”

 

“What do you mean? What would happen?”

 

Tony gave him a look. “You'd become one of them. A zombie.”

 

Steve looked away. The pair fell into an awkward silence and Steve found his mind wandering back to his and Tony's failed relationship. Even though Tony had broken it off, Steve still missed him terribly. Seeing Tony now only served to reinforce that feeling. What hell had Tony been through in the past month? How strong must he have been to survive it? Steve glanced over at Tony. Why did he break up with Steve all those years ago?

 

A quiet skittering shook him out of his reverie and Steve put a hand on Tony's shoulder to stop him. Tony looked annoyed and opened his mouth, no doubt to demand to know what Steve thought he was doing, but Steve put a finger to his lips and tilted his head to the side, listening. They stood frozen, straining to hear the slightest sound. Tony frowned in frustration and looked about ready to dismiss his concern when Steve heard it again.

 

“Zombie,” Steve whispered, pointing behind them in the direction he thought the skittering was coming from.

 

Tony nodded and pulled out his pistol while Steve did the same. They faced the way they'd come, eyes constantly searching for any sign of movement as they continued to move backward toward the next room. Before he reached their intended door himself, Steve heard Tony swear quietly.

 

“What is it?” Steve whispered.

 

“The damn door's been sealed shut by the station's AI,” Tony hissed back. “We're not getting through this way.”

 

Steve turned around and saw that Tony was right. It was a thick, steel door not even Steve could bust through even if it wouldn't make a huge racket. How had Romanov gotten through? She had to have come this way. Glancing around, Steve noticed an open vent, cover leaned neatly against the wall nearby. The vent was far to small for either him or Tony to fit, so they couldn't follow Romanov's route. Still, Steve had to admire her cleverness. But the question remained, how could he and Tony get through?

 

“Can't you hotwire it open?” Steve asked, returning his attention to the corridor and the sound of skittering multiplying.

 

“Seriously?” Tony hissed. Steve could just imagine the incredulity and annoyance on his face. “And what am I supposed to hotwire it with? Even if I had fingernails, this panel would not be coming off any time soon.”

 

Steve, without looking away from the direction of the now much louder noises for even a second, reached up and drew his combat knife out of its shoulder sheath. He reached behind him to hand it to Tony.

 

“Will this work?”

 

Tony didn't say anything for a minute. When he did finally manage to form words again, he sounded vaguely impressed.

 

“Always prepared, aren't you? Never in the Boy Scouts, my ass,” Tony muttered. Steve wasn't sure if he was meant to hear it or not, so he didn't bother replying. Then Tony said more loudly, “Yeah, that should work.”

 

The quiet sound of metal scratching on metal joined the skittering just now turning the corner. Tony had called the creature he'd killed a zombie, but Steve couldn't think of a less accurate descriptor for the things meandering down the corridor. None of them appeared to be rotting away, still as pristine as when they were alive if much grayer than normal. Steve would almost call them vampires except they didn't look to have the trademark fangs, just two rows of very sharp teeth meant to shred instead of pierce. When the zombies finally caught sight of Steve and Tony, their unfocused gazes suddenly zeroed in on their prey and they lost the meandering quality to their movement, moving with a terrifying single-minded purpose.

 

“Hey, Tony, if you're going to get that door open, now would be an excellent time to do it,” Steve hissed, backing up slowly and raising his pistol.

 

“Patience is a virtue,” Tony sing-songed back without really paying attention.

 

“Not right now it isn't,” Steve retorted.

 

He fired, hitting the leader in the scythe-like appendage reaching toward him despite the distance. The zombie screeched and flailed, but didn't stop coming toward them. In fact, it sounded more angry than injured. The other zombies joined the leader, screeching and putting on a burst of speed.

 

“Tony!”

 

Just as Steve shouted his name, he heard the telltale hiss of the door opening and allowed Tony to yank him backward into the room. The door just barely closed behind them before Tony was prying the panel off the controls on that side and ripping out all the wiring.

 

“That should keep the door closed. These zombies are smarted than their Hollywood counterparts, but not smart enough to hotwire a door.”

 

Tony stood back, looking very satisfied with himself. Steve didn't say anything, preferring to take in their new surroundings. This room didn't look any different from the others, just as much of a looted mess as the rest of the station, if a little more thoroughly looted than where Steve had found Tony.

 

“Where are we now?” Steve asked. He didn't see anything in the room that might identify it.

 

Tony looked around too and shrugged.

 

“Probably just a common area of some kind for the citizens. Speaking of which, Steve, why are you here?”

 

“Agent Romanov told you already. We're here to help,” Steve said. “When Earth lost contact with the station, SHIELD sent my team to check it out.”

 

“Your team?” Tony repeated skeptically.

 

“Yes.”

 

“You're telling me that SHIELD sent it's best operatives on what amounts to a basic recon mission? Any idiot could do that and I know SHIELD has junior agents more than capable of flying out here to check on the station,” Tony said. “Wanna tell me why they really sent you now?”

 

Steve sighed, looking anywhere but at Tony, the memory of receiving this assignment flashing through his mind.

 

“When I found out you were on the station, I demanded Fury assign me the mission.”

 

“Why?”

 

Steve met Tony's eyes. “It wasn't my decision to end our relationship, Tony. I still care about you, more than anything.”

 

“If Fury had ever found out we were dating, you would have lost your job,” Tony said, just as stubbornly defiant as Steve ever was.

 

“I wouldn't have cared, Tony. Losing my job would have been a small price to pay to stay with you. There are other jobs. I would have been fine. _We_ would have been fine.”

 

“You love your job! You can't tell me you don't. I kept tabs on you afterward. You spend so much time working, your only friends are your team. The only shocking thing is how you managed to find so much time to spend with me before,” Tony ranted, then he dropped his gaze and his voice softened. “Trust me, Steve. This was for the best.”

 

Steve warred with himself internally for several long moments before deciding to lay all his cards on the table.

 

“I threw myself into work to try to forget the worst day of my life,” he said quietly, looking up to meet Tony's wide-eyed stare. “It didn't work.”

 

“Steve...” Tony murmured.

 

Tony's usually composed expression twisted with pain. He looked like he might respond, maybe say something that would bring them back together, but then the lights flickered several times accompanied by a sound like nails on a chalkboard that made Steve want to cringe. Just before the lights shut off completely, Steve saw the look of absolute terror on Tony's face.

 

“We need to hide,” Tony hissed urgently, gesturing impatiently when Steve hesitated. “Now!”

 

Tony grabbed Steve's arm and tried to drag him bodily toward a set of cabinets on the other side of the room. Despite using his full strength, Tony couldn't force Steve to budge even an inch. Steve hadn't noticed anything that could warrant this response and wasn't going to move unless given a very good reason.

 

“Steve, move!” Tony ordered, yanking hard on Steve's arm.

 

He looked really frantic, eyes darting this way and that like he had found himself trapped in a corner with no way out and staring down a monster. That finally convinced Steve to just go with it and ask questions later.

 

They made their way through the maze of overturned office furniture toward the utility cabinets on the far side. Tony only slipped once on a scattered pile of paper, but Steve managed to grab him and haul him back upright before he hit the floor. Steve ripped open the door and shoved Tony inside, ignoring the urgent shushing noises he was making. He followed in after, closing the door behind them, their only shield against whatever threat Tony had sensed.

 

They stood in tense silence, Steve with his arms wrapped securely around Tony's waist, holding him close. He strained to hear anything at all to explain why Tony had freaked out. Then he heard it; a wet breathing sound floated to his ears. The sound chilled him to the bone, though he didn't know why, and it only got worse as it moved closer. Was it looking for them? Tony seemed to be thinking along the same lines because his chest stilled and Steve found himself holding his breath too.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, the breathing got quieter until it vanished altogether. Steve held onto Tony for several more minutes, trying to keep his own breathing as shallow and quiet as possible. When the whatever-it-was didn't come back, he finally pushed open the cabinet doors and climbed out with Tony right behind him.

 

“What was that, Tony?”

 

Tony took a shaky breath. “I don't know. I've never actually seen it.”

 

Steve stared. “Then how do you know it's dangerous?” He asked.

 

The look he got in return told him in no uncertain terms how stupid Tony thought that question was. Steve refused to retract it and waited silently for Tony to answer.

 

“For starters, there's the scary breathing. That's horror monster breathing if I ever heard it,” Tony said, ticking off the points on his fingers. “And second, I may not have seen the creature itself, but I've seen what it can do. I got lucky. The other guy in the room took the fall. Neither of us thought that sound was worth hiding or running from until it was too late. We tried running, but that thing caught us immediately. If I'd been just a hair slower, you'd be rescuing a random civilian instead of me. One second he was panting behind me and the next he vanished in a fountain of blood and cacophony of screams.”

 

“Alright. So, we definitely hide from heavy-breathing monster,” Steve said. “Come on. We still need to get to the bridge and I want to get off this station as soon as possible. It doesn't sound like it's very good for your health.”

 

“It's definitely not,” Tony muttered as he followed Steve out the door.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Steve couldn't decide if he should feel relieved or on edge when he and Tony made it to the bridge without seeing – or hearing, as it were – the heavy-breathing monster again. The only trouble they ran into were roving bands of the zombies, which were dealt with mostly by sneaking around them and the occasional bout of gunfire. No matter how hard they tried, sometimes the damn things would turn around at the exact wrong moment and spot them. When Steve complained about it, Tony reminded him that they tended to hunt by sound and maybe they were making noises the zombies could hear, but he and Steve couldn't. Steve wasn't so sure about this, but he kept his peace about it just to make his life a little easier.

 

Another sealed door served as the final barrier to the bridge. Steve unsheathed his knife and handed it to Tony with a practiced ease that spoke to the many times they'd done this and took up a sentry position. Tony, for his part, took the knife without comment and got to work hotwiring the door. Not for the first time, Steve wished he and Tony were small enough to take Romanov's path through the vents.

 

In mere seconds, the familiar whoosh of the doors sliding open signaled Tony had worked his magic yet again. The much more unfamiliar shout that followed sent Steve's heart rate skyrocketing.

 

“Whoa! Whoa! Don't shoot!” Tony shouted.

 

Steve about-faced, taking in the scene before him. Tony had his hands raised in the universal gesture of surrender, Steve's knife held loosely between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. On the other side of the door, Romanov stood firmly, gun aimed right at Tony. Behind her hovered another man, skinny and nervous with large, wire-framed glasses.

 

“Stand down, Black Widow,” Steve ordered immediately.

 

Romanov's gaze flickered to him and her posture relaxed minutely, her gun lowering to her side.

 

“Took you long enough to get here,” she teased.

 

“Not all of us can fit through the secret passageways,” Steve retorted.

 

“They're called vents.”

 

“My point stands.”

 

Romanov chuckled, then turned her gaze on Tony.

 

“I see your boyfriend has recovered from his crazy spell.”

 

“I'd like to see how put together you are after a month in this hell hole,” Tony said.

 

Romanov raised an eyebrow at him, but Steve couldn't tell if it was because of Tony's comment or that he didn't deny he was Steve's boyfriend. Better to change the subject. Tony's shoulders had stiffened and the tension in the room wrapped around him like a blanket. There would be an unproductive spat soon if Steve didn't head it off.

 

“Who do you have?” He asked, gesturing with his chin toward the nervous guy dressed in a rumpled suit, minus the tie and jacket.

 

“This is Jared. He's the highest ranking administrator on the station. The rest are dead. He also caused the explosion that dislodged the _Avenger_ ,” Romanov reported.

 

Steve turned to Jared, who stood there wringing his hands.

 

“And why did you do that?”

 

“I was trying to destroy the creature, I swear!” Jared rushed to say. “I didn't mean to harm your ship or anything! It didn't even work! So I was going to set off the station's self-destruct.”

 

“You planned to kill all the survivors left on the station to kill one creature?” Steve asked.

 

“And all the little ones. ALIS said it couldn't sense any other humans! I thought everyone else was dead or turned!”

 

“Alice? Who's Alice?”

 

“It stands for Administrative, Logistical, and Intelligence System,” Jared said unhelpfully.

 

“The AI, Steve. ALIS is the station's AI,” Tony cut in.

 

Steve nodded his thanks to Tony and turned back to Jared, who he found staring at Tony wide-eyed.

 

“Obviously, this ALIS was wrong. We found Tony in Science and Medical. If he survived, others might have too,” Steve said, turning to Tony again. “You mentioned looters. That means you ran across other people, living people, at some point.”

 

Tony shrugged. “I was getting pretty delirious, being alone and under constant stress for a month will do that to you. Honestly, I don't remember the last time I saw a living person before you came along.”

 

“That doesn't mean someone else couldn't have survived,” Steve insisted.

 

“No, but I doubt it. ALIS isn't the best AI in the world – I mean, I built a better one years ago while drunk off my ass – but it's still pretty good. If it says there are no other humans on the station, there probably aren't,” Tony said.

 

“Science and Medical is one of the most heavily infested areas,” Jared butted in. “That's probably why ALIS didn't detect him. Too much interference from the other creatures.”

 

“Fine. Let's assume there are no other survivors on the station. Would blowing it up kill these things?” Steve asked.

 

“I don't know,” Jared admitted.

 

Steve turned to Tony next, who, honestly, appeared to have the most information on this station and the creatures infesting it, despite only being a visitor. Maybe there really was something to all Tony's boasting about being a genius.

 

“Tony?”

 

He stroked his unkempt beard, looking disturbed when he noticed his lack of grooming. Steve remembered Tony being very particular about his facial hair. Just one more casualty of this catastrophe. Tony seemed to put it out of his mind, looking thoughtful, hands firmly at his sides.

 

“I would think an explosion that violent would kill almost anything, but there's no way to confirm my theory without actually doing it. If nothing else, shooting them into the vacuum of space, if it doesn't kill them, should keep anyone else from stumbling across them.”

 

“Sounds like the self-destruct is our only option, then,” Steve said, returning his attention back to Jared. “We wait until our ship can dock with the station again and evacuate us. The self-destruct can be put on a timer, right?”

 

“Of course,” Jared said earnestly. “But I can't activate it from here.”

 

“What? Why not?” Steve demanded.

 

“ALIS has restricted access to all critical functions for the lockdown. Control for the self-destruct has been moved to the central server four floors down near the center.”

 

Steve opened his mouth to answer when a burst of static from his earpiece startled him. He noticed Romanov similarly stiffen, then tilt her head to better focus on the voice on the other end.

 

“Nomad, this is _Avenger_. Do you read, Cap?”

 

“Hawkeye! This is Nomad. I read you,” Steve responded quickly.

 

“I've found a place I think I can dock with the station. It's not the best in the world, but it's all we've got,” Barton told him.

 

“Whatever you have to do, Hawkeye. We're going to need the evac sooner rather than later.”

 

“What kind of trouble have you gotten yourselves into down there?”

 

“Not the time, Hawk,” Steve said sternly. “Begin docking procedures, then hold your position until Widow and I return with our two passengers.”

 

“Love to, Cap, but I can't.”

 

Steve sighed and muttered, “There's a lot of that going around today.”

 

“What?”

 

“Why can't you dock?”

 

“The remote activation for the docking control is shot. I can't do it from the ship. I need someone on the station to get to the docking bay and run through the procedure manually,” Barton explained.

 

“I can do it,” Romanov cut in. “Tell me where to go.”

 

“Docking bay ninety-four in the cargo storage looks like it's still up and running for the most part. I'll meet you there.”

 

“Acknowledged. We'll meet you at bay ninety-four, Hawkeye. Nomad out.”

 

Steve slid the clip out of his pistol, checking the amount of ammunition he had left, then slid it back home with a click. Romanov had made a similar check of her weapon. It wasn't much, but the short ritual made him feel more prepared to take on the next task in his mission. Now they just had to make it across the station without getting killed, activate the docking procedure manually without getting killed, and they were home free.

 

“Let's get moving. We'll report Alpha Station's situation to SHIELD and let them deal with the rest,” he said, directing his final instructions to Jared more than Romanov. “Keep as quiet as possible and follow my orders immediately and to the letter. Understood?”

 

Jared nodded.

 

“Then let's go.”

 

“Wait a minute, Captain,” Romanov said, looking around. “Where did Stark go?”

 

Steve felt his heart rate kick up again, the panic quickly taking root as he did his own visual circuit of the room. It remained empty of everyone but the three of them. Tony was nowhere to be found. Where could he have gone?

 

“Dammit,” Steve muttered, the revelation hitting him like a bolt of lightning. “The self-destruct.”

 

“Don't tell me he's gone to activate it?” Romanov said.

 

“It would be just like him,” Steve confirmed.

 

“But he couldn't,” Jared protested, wringing his hands again. “Only administrators with high enough clearance can activate the self-destruct. No visitor would have the credentials to do it.”

 

“You don't know Tony Stark,” Steve said. “Alright. Change of plans. Widow, you take Jared and get to the docking bay. Give it ten minutes and if I'm not back with Tony by then, you take off without us. Got it?”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Keep quiet and choose stealth over combat wherever possible. These zombies, creatures, or whatever are attracted by sound. Keep off their radar and you should be fine.”

 

Romanov nodded, then gestured to Jared. “Come on. Keep up and do as I say when I say.”

 

Jared didn't even bother replying. Steve thought he looked terrified. There was no time to worry about that now. He had a genius to retrieve.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Steve managed to track Tony's path back through the station easily and began to wonder if it was by design. All he had to do was follow the trail of open doors, occasionally stopping to wait out a group of zombies wandering through. Every time he had to stop, his worry grew until he was nearly frantic. It took all the discipline trained into him by the army, then SHIELD to move at a slow, quiet pace.

 

He found the main server room easily and slipped inside just ahead of yet another group of zombies. Fortunately, they hadn't noticed him. Steve checked his watch and swore under his breath. It had taken too long to get here. He needed to find Tony fast. When he finally found the wayward genius, Steve would probably forgo reasoning with him and just toss him over his shoulder.

 

“Tony?” Steve hissed, peering down the aisles between servers.

 

The lights were off in this section of the station, so Steve had to rely on the soft, flickering glow coming from the servers and emergency floor lighting. He could barely see where he was going, let alone find Tony in a reasonable amount of time. Steve was going to throttle Tony if they made it out of this alive.

 

“Tony!” Steve hissed again, more urgently this time. “Dammit! Where are you?”

 

“Steve?” Tony's voice said from several aisles away.

 

Steve rushed over, being careful to keep as quiet as possible and not run into anything. He turned a corner and found Tony hunched over the keyboard of a terminal connected to what Steve hoped was the central server. Tony glanced up when Steve touched his shoulder, but returned immediately to his work.

 

“Are you getting anywhere?” Steve asked.

 

“Yeah. I almost got it. Just gotta convince ALIS to activate the self-destruct,” Tony said. Steve thought he had said all he wanted to, but after a moment, he continued in the quietest voice Steve had ever heard him use. “Steve? Why did you come after me?”

 

“I already told you, Tony,” Steve said softly, squeezing Tony's shoulder gently. “I still care about you. I still love you.”

 

Tony didn't say anything, but Steve thought he heard a small hitch in his breathing. They didn't speak for several minutes, only Tony tapping on the keys disturbing the silence. Steve's anxiety ratcheted up by the second. He could feel time and their escape slipping away from them.

 

“I know you don't like being rushed, Tony, but now would be a great time to hurry up,” Steve whispered.

 

“Got a hot date, Steve?”

 

“We both do. With the _Avenger_.”

 

Tony hesitated. “I don't think I'm going to hack ALIS fast enough to escape. You should go, Steve. Save yourself.”

 

“Like hell, Tony,” Steve hissed. “I'm not leaving you here alone. Either we both make it out alive or we both die here. Those are your only choices.”

 

Tony reached up to briefly squeeze the hand Steve still had resting on his shoulder.

 

“I love you too, Steve,” he whispered softly.

 

Steve felt his heart warm and a gentle smile curved his lips. Tony returned to his work, the speed of his typing increasing to near blinding. Was this an increase in Tony's confidence born from Steve's faith in him? Or was this Tony trying to save them?

 

Another minute or two passed before Tony let out a quiet exclamation.

 

“I'm in!”

 

“Great. Is there a timer on that thing?”

 

“Yeah,” Tony said, still typing.

 

“Good. Set it for five minutes and let's get out of here.”

 

Tony did as Steve said, striking one last key with a dramatic flourish and turning to grin triumphantly at him. Steve had to throttle the urge to kiss him in that moment. Later. When they were safe on the  _ Avenger _ . There would be plenty of time then. Steve grabbed Tony's hand and took off at a run, towing Tony behind him.

 

“Steve!” Tony gasped. “The zombies! We need to be quiet!”

 

“No time. Ship's docked in the cargo area and they're going to leave without us if we don't hurry.”

 

Tony shut up at that and concentrated on keeping pace with Steve's longer strides. Steve could hear him panting, but, to his credit, he refused to let himself slow down. They sped through empty rooms and down even emptier corridors. For a moment, Steve thought they might get lucky and make it to the ship without incident. Then a group of zombies down a side corridor caught sight of them, immediately giving chase.

 

Steve and Tony managed to keep ahead of them. Tony had fired a couple wild shots behind him before Steve told him not to waste his ammo. The zombies were deadly when they got close, but they didn't appear to run faster than a normal human. Whatever reassurance Steve got from that was canceled out by the claw-arms flailing through the air as the zombies chased him and Tony.

 

They skidded around a corner, Tony nearly went down, just barely regaining his footing as Steve dragged him along. Steve could have cheered when he saw the cargo storage with bay ninety-four just beyond it. He guided Tony through the maze of overturned crates, their contents strewn about the room. To make it worse, Tony began to slow down, wheezing and stumbling behind Steve.

 

“Come on, Tony! You can do it!” Steve said, refusing to let go. He'd sling Tony over his shoulder if he had to.

 

A crashing sound came from behind them right before Steve's back and shoulder exploded in pain. He went flying, landing with a grunt several feet closer to the docking bay. Steve managed to regain his senses and turn over. Tony lay unmoving nearby and Steve felt his heart stop. It stated again when Tony groaned and Steve was able to look around to see what had hit them.

 

He found the source immediately and just as quickly wished he hadn't. In the entryway stood a creature at least eight feet tall. It looked like a larger version of the zombies, but with six claw-arms protruding from it's back and human arms twice as long and muscular as they should be. It had a huge mouth full of razor-sharp teeth dripping with saliva. It screeched at them and came sprinting forward.

 

Steve didn't think. The creature was charging toward a defenseless Tony. He grabbed for his gun and started firing at it. The creature hesitated, screeching again. That's when Tony sat up, just in time to see Steve drop the clip from his pistol, slam in another one, and resume firing.

 

“I think you're just making it mad,” he said.

 

Steve didn't take his eyes off the creature, but he could see Tony scrambling to his feet and looking around.

 

“As long as it's not charging at us, then I don't care how mad it gets,” Steve retorted.

 

“This isn't getting us anywhere,” Tony said. “Keep it distracted for a minute, would you?”

 

“No problem,” Steve grunted, climbing to his feet while the creature screeched at them again.

 

Tony ran off, disappearing among the crates and debris.

 

“Tony! Where are you going?”

 

The creature screeched and turned to look in the direction Tony had vanished. Steve shot at it again before it got any ideas about following. He had to reload again and the creature took advantage of the lull in gunfire to pick up a crate. Steve just barely managed to duck behind another crate before the creature sent the one it held flying at him.

 

“Tony! Whatever you're doing, hurry up!” Steve shouted, leaning around his cover to fire at the creature again.

 

As if in answer, Steve heard a clanging racket from the other side of the room. A metal cylinder rolled to a stop at the creature's feet. It momentarily forgot about Steve in favor of examining this new thing. That's when Tony reappeared from behind a crate about thirty feet away from the creature.

 

“Steve! Shoot the tank!” Tony shouted and ducked back behind his crate.

 

Steve looked back at the tank and the creature, who had decided the thing making noise made more interesting prey. Before it could take a second step toward Tony's hiding spot, Steve took careful aim at the tank and fired.

 

The tank exploded into a ball of fire. The creature shrieked and reared back, trying to get away from the flames that had caught on its arms and torso. Tony came sprinting out of cover, heading right for Steve, who caught the hand he reached toward him.

 

“Time to go!”

 

Together they ran for the docking bay. Steve never felt such relief as when they made it to the door and found it open, waiting for them. He shoved Tony through first, not bothering to shut the door behind them as he followed Tony down the connecting corridor. Tony closed and sealed the door on the  _ Avenger _ 's side after Steve slipped through while Steve hit the intercom.

 

“Hawkeye, this is Nomad. Tony and I are on board. Take off now!”

 

“Roger that, Captain. Detaching loading corridor now. Everybody buckle up,” Barton said.

 

Steve lead Tony to the nearest seating with safety belts, which just so happened to be the crew lounge where he'd found Romanov earlier. She and her armory were absent, probably in the cockpit with Hawkeye. He and Tony grabbed the nearest chairs and fastened in just as Barton accelerated away from the station.

 

Seconds later a massive explosion rocked the  _ Avenger _ , sending it careening off in a random direction until Barton wrestled the small ship back under control. Alpha Station was no more. Steve couldn't find it in himself to regret it either. He just hoped the creatures infesting the station had gone with it.

 

“That was a close one, huh?” Tony said.

 

“Too close.”

 

“That why you kept telling me to hurry up?” Tony teased.

 

Steve groaned.

 

“I need a vacation,” he said, looking up and meeting Tony's eyes. “But first...”

 

Steve unfastened his safety belt and stood. Tony watched him walk over, face as blank as he could make it, but Steve refused to be deterred. He leaned down, took Tony's face in his hands, and kissed him.

 

“Wanna come with me? I'm thinking Hawaii. At least a month,” Steve murmured against his lips. He felt Tony smile, then kiss him again.

 

“I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art for Alpha Station](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18990694) by [AetherSprite (AranthianPrincess)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AranthianPrincess/pseuds/AetherSprite), [KakushiMiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KakushiMiko/pseuds/KakushiMiko)




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